ORPHAN  RACHEL; 

OR. 

THE  WAYS  0  F  PROVIDENCE 


WITH  ALTERATIONS^ 

PTING  IT  TO  THE  USE  OF  THE  GENERAL  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL 
SUNDAY  SCHOOL  UNION. 


NEW- YORK: 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  GEN.  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL 


SUNDAY  SCHOOL 


UNION. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
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University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


https://archive.org/details/orphanrachelorwaOOunse 


ORPHAN  RACHEL. 


The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom ;  and  the  know* 
ledge  of  the  holy  is  understanding.  Prov.  ix.  10. 

Rachel  Maitland  was  sitting  beside  her  blind 
grandfather,  knitting  warm  woollen  stockings  for  his 
use  against  the  ensuing  winter  ;  a  book  lay  open  be-  • 
fore  her,  from  which  she  was  endeavoring  to  learn 
the  French  language  without  the  assistance  of  a 
master. 

Now  some  of  my  readers  may  feel  some  doubt 
respecting  the  possibility  of  this  double  employ¬ 
ment  ;  but  knitting  forms  one  of  the  easiest  amuse¬ 
ments  of  the  blind,  consequently  those  who  enjoy 
the  blessing  of  sight  can  knit  and  read  at  the  same 
time  with  the  greatest  facility,  if  *hey  possess  any 
skill  in  that  useful  art. 

Still  Rachel  was  pursuing  a  dry  study  of  her 
own  accord,  which  too  many  learn  only  as  a  task ; 
but  then  she  possessed  an  inquiring  mind,  and  the 
poverty  of  her  grandfather  denied  her  the  advan¬ 
tages  of  a  liberal  education.  Thus,  with  an  ardent 
desire  to  obtain  information,  she  was  left  entirely 
to  her  own  resources  for  its  acquirement. 

The  recent  death  of  her  good  and  pious  grand¬ 
mother,  had  engaged  Rachel,  at  the  early  age  of 
fifteen,  in  those  active  duties  which  the  mistress  of 

a  family  is  always  called  upon  to  perform.  The 

(5  5 


6 


ORPHAN  RACHEL. 


time  she  had  hitherto  spent  in  endeavoring  to 
acquire  knowledge,  was  now  devoted  to  the  com¬ 
forts  of  her  aged  grandfather  ;  for  Rachel  had  been 
early  taught  to  make  a  difference  between  what 
was  right,  and  what  only  appeared  to  be  so,  from 
the  inclination  she  felt  to  pursue  it.  She  knew  that 
there  was  no  absolute  necessity  for  her  becoming 
an  accomplished  woman,  while  an  actual  reason 
existed  for  her  becoming  a  useful  one. 

This  afternoon,  however,  she  did  not  feel  so  con¬ 
tented  and  happy  as  usual.  Was  it  that  the  sun' 
was  flinging  his  bright  beams  through  the  window, 
and  that  she  pined  to  share  the  pure  bracing  air  of 
a  September  afternoon  with  some  companions  of 
her  own  age?  No!  for  the  same  gay  sunbeams 
glittered  upon  the  silver  hair  of  her  grandfather, 
who  was  sleeping  in  his  easy  chair,  and  whose 
afternoon  slumbers  she  was  accustomed  to  watch. 
His  infirmities  had  doubly  endeared  him  to  Rachel, 
and  she  loved  him  too  well  even  to  wish  to  leave 
him. 

What  then  could  occasion  the  discontent  now 
visibly  painted  on  the  expressive  countenance  of  the 
orphan?  The  fact  was,  that  she  experienced  some 
new  difficulty  in  learning  the  French  language,  and 
she  wanted  some  one  to  explain  the  meaning  of  the 
words  that  puzzled  her. 

At  this  moment  she  dropped  her  knitting,  and 
leaning  her  aching  head  on  her  hands,  pushing  the 
book  from  her,  half  determined  to  give  up  the  at* 
tempt  altogether.  This  state  of  mind  was  followed 


ORPHAN  RACHEL. 


7 


by  discontent  and  repining,  and  she  began  to  contrast 
her  situation  and  all  its  disadvantages  with  the  op¬ 
portunities  for  instruction  enjoyed  by  many  others. 

Rachel’s  conscience,  however,  soon  reproached 
her  for  her  ingratitude  to  Him  who  had  provided 
her  with  food  and  raiment,  and  who  had  given  her 
a  book  of  instruction,  whose  knowledge  was  able 
to  make  her  wise  unto  salvation ;  and  she  felt  that 
the  learning  to  be  acquired  there  would  endure 
“when  tongues  should  fail,”  and  all  other  things 
should  be  forgotten. 

She  wept  while  she  thought  of  her  forgetfulness 
of  these  mercies,  and  taking  down  the  Bible,  re¬ 
solved  to  compose  her  mind  with  reading  a  chap¬ 
ter  before  she  continued  her  work. 

It  happened  that  she  opened  at  these  words: 
“  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom; 
and  the  knowledge  of  the  holy  is  understanding:” 
and  this  sentence  seemed  to  answer  and  reprove 
her  repinings,  and  to  carry  conviction  and  consola¬ 
tion  to  her  heart. 

Rachel  then  resumed  her  employment,  and  soon 
overcame  the  difficulty  that  perplexed  her  so 
much ;  indeed  the  time  we  often  spend  in  vain 
lamentation  when  any  little  trouble  befalls  us,  would; 
generally  set  every  thing  right  again  if  we  applied 
it  properly. 

Rachel’s  grandfather  had  spent  a  great  part  of 
his  life  on  the  sea,  and  after  he  had  gained  a  mo¬ 
derate  fortune  had  retired  to  his  native  place, 
and  married  an  amiable  woman,  with  whom  lie 


8 


ORPHAN  RACHEL. 


hoped  to  have  spent  the  rest  of  his  days  in  peace. 
By  this  lady  Mr.  Maitland  had  a  son,  whom  he 
regarded  with  an  affection  that  rendered  him  com* 
pletely  blind  to  his  faults. 

Yet  Michael  Maitland  was  of  a  temper  that  re¬ 
quired  to  be  controlled;  his  uncorrected  faults,  as 
he  grew  older,  strengthened  into  crimes,  and  his 
unhappy  father  soon  found  that  the  ill  habits  his 
son  had  acquired  in  childhood  were  not  easily  to  be 
overcome. 

Michael  gave  way  to  the  most  thoughtless  extra¬ 
vagance,  and  spent  his  days  in  idleness  and  his 
nights  in  riot  and  intemperance. 

How  often  did  Mr.  Maitland  regret  that  he  had 
forbidden  his  more  judicious  partner  to  correct 
Michael  for  trifling  errors  when  a  child ;  alas ! 
those  seeming  trifles  (he  then  saw)  were  only  the 
seeds  of  crimes.  These  self-upbraidings  came  too 
late,  for  Michael’s  extravagant  courses  led  him  to 
commit  a  breach  of  trust,  and  he  was  exiled  from 
h.is  country  for  a  term  of  seven  years. 

“  Whoso  keepeth  the  law  is  a  wise  son  ;  but  he 
ihat  is  a  companion  of  riotous  men,  shameth  his 
father.”  Poor  Mr.  Maitland  often  thought  of  this 
proverb  of  Solomon,  and  wished  that  he  had 
drained  up  his  child  in  the  right  way — that  child 
whose  evil  courses  had  brought  him  to  such  dis¬ 
grace. 

The  unhappy  parents  changed  their  place  oi 
tbode,  and  retired  to  a  small  cottage  in  an  obscure 
village  far  from  their  native  county,  where  they 


ORPHAN  RACHEL. 


9 

lived  on  the  small  wreck  of  property  that  Michael’s 
extravagance  had  left  them. 

Time  passed  on,  and  religion  gradually  brought 
peace  to  the  hearts  of  the  afflicted  couple.  The 
term  of  Michael’s  banishment  was  ended1,  yet  no 
tidings  reached  them  from  that  distant  land  whither 
he  had  been  exiled,  and  they  concluded  that  he 
had  perished  there. 

One  bitter  snowy  day,  in  the  beginning  of  Janu¬ 
ary,  a  miserable  looking  man,  dressed  like  a  sailor, 
approached  Mr.  Maitland’s  cottage,  leading  in  his 
hand  a  little  girl,  who  was  crying  bitterly  with  the 
cold;  and  knocking  at  the  door,  humbly  solicited 
Mrs.  Maitland’s  charity  with  a  downcast  look  that 
showed  he  had  not  always  been  accustomed  to 
beg. 

The  voice  was  familiar  to  Mrs.  Maitland’s  ear; 
she  gazed  earnestly  on  that  emaciated  form,  on 
those  pallid  features.  The  eye  of  the  mother 
pierced  through  all  the  changes  that  time,  absence, 
disease  and  misery  had  made  in  her  son’s  appear¬ 
ance,  and  in  a  tone  of  anguish  she  pronounced  his 
name.  With  a  convulsive  start  the  mendicant 
raised  his  drooping  head;  he  immediately  recog¬ 
nised  his  parent,  and  clasped  her  to  his  bosom  in 
an  agony  of  tenderness  and  grief. 

His  wife’s  sobs  brought  out  Mr.  Maitland,  who 
contemplated  the  affecting  scene  with  mingled  feel¬ 
ings  of  sorrow  and  surprise.  The  guilty  son  turned 
toward  his  father,  and  addressed  him  in  the  words 
of  the  prodigal  in  the  gospel,  “  Father,  I  have  sin- 
1* 


ORPHAN  RACHEL. 


10 

ned  against  Heaven,  and  before  thee,  and  am  no 
more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son.” 

At  those  affecting  words  the  heart  of  the  parent 
melted,  “  and  he  fell  on  his  son’s  neck,  and  kissed 
him,”  and  led  him  and  his  famished  little  one  to 
the  fire-side,  and  welcomed  them  with  the  greatest 
affection. 

Michael’s  story  was  soon  told,  for  he  passed  over 
the  sufferings  he  had  undergone  as  a  convict,  and 
only  spoke  of  his  deep  repentance  and  consequent 
reconciliation  with  his  offended  God.  “  He  had 
married  the  virtuous  daughter  of  a  Scotch  settler,” 
he  said,  “  but  death  had  taken  his  Ann,  and  all  the 
pledges  of  her  love,  excepting  little  Rachel ;  but  that 
heavy  affliction  had  been  the  means  of  leading  him 
to  feel  the  need  of  a  Redeemer.  His  heart  yearn¬ 
ed  for  home,  and  he  sold  all  his  effects  and  em¬ 
barked  for  Europe,  taking  with  him  the  child  for 
whose  sake  alone  he  wished  to  live :  but  he  had 
suffered  shipwreck,  and  lost  everything  but  her; 
and  he  was  begging  his  way  to  his  native  place, 
when  Providence  directed  him  to  his  parents,  whom 
he  imagined  to  be  still  farther  distant.” 

The  kind  Maitlands  forgot  all  the  sorrow  their 
son  had  formerly  caused  them,  in  joy  for  his  unex¬ 
pected  return ;  but  Michael  did  not  long  survive 
this  happy  meeting,  for  the  first  spring  flowers  were 
scattered  on  the  wanderer’s  grave,  and  he  slept  in 
peace. 

Little  Rachel  was  only  three  years  old  at  the 
time  of  her  father’s  death,  and  was  extremely  deli- 


ORPHAN  RACHEL. 


11 

cate  in  her  constitution;  but  under  the  judicious 
management  of  her  grandmother,  she  soon  grew 
healthy  and  beautiful.  Perhaps  in  any  other  family 
the  little  orphan  might  have  been  injured  by  too 
much  indulgence;  but  Mrs.  Maitland  had  suffered 
too  much  from  that  error  in  the  after-conduct  of 
her  son,  to  fall  into  it  again  in  the  education  of  her 
granddaughter.  She  also  knew  that  she  had  a 
serious  duty  to  perform  toward  God,  in  training  up 
the  child  for  heaven. 

Rachel  was  controlled  in  every  whim,  and  was 
never  permitted  to  be  wayward  or  unruly  in  her 
temper;  she  was  taught  to  love  and  fear  God  from 
her  tenderest  infancy,  and  her  little  hands  were 
early  rendered  useful.  Thus  “trained  up  in  the 
way  she  should  go,”  Rachel  became  the  joy  and 
comfort  of  her  venerable  friends’  declining  years, 
and  they  beheld  her  increase  in  goodness  and 
industry  as  she  increased  in  age,  with  feelings  of 
purest  delight. 

The  blindness  of  her  grandfather,  and  the  sudden 
death  of  her  excellent  grandmother,  were  the  first  sor¬ 
rows  Rachel  had  ever  known,  and  they  were  severe 
ones;  yet  she  met  them  with  surprising  fortitude, 
for  her  grandmother  had  told  her  of  the  sufferings 
of  Christ,  and  taught  her  to  bear  all  sorrows  with 
fortitude,  and  thus  had  fitted  her  to  meet  trials  with 
firmness,  and  resignation  to  the  Divine  will. 

Rachel,  as  I  have  said,  possessed  an  inquiring 
mind,  and  this  had  led  her  to  attempt  learning 
French,  as  she  wished  to  read  some  books  that  had 


12 


ORPHAN  RACHEL. 


belonged  to  her  father,  and  which  were  in  that 
language;  besides,  she  had  a  wish  to  become  an 
instructress,  for  she  knew  that  her  grandfather 
couid  leave  her  nothing,  and  she  was  very  desirous 
of  being  able  to  gain  a  respectable  livelihood 
when  death  should  have  removed  her  venerable 
relative. 

God  never  deserts  those  who  put  their  trust  in 
him,  and  he  raised  up  a  friend  to  the  orphan  in  the 
time  of  need. 

The  mild  air  of  Devonshire  is  generally  consi¬ 
dered  very  beneficial  to  invalids,  and  the  physician 
employed  by  a  lady  of  high  rank,  had  recom¬ 
mended  her  to  take  her  daughter,  Lady  Elizabeth, 
into  the  west  of  England  for  the  benefit  of  her 
health,  and  she  brought  her  to  the  beautiful  and 
retired  village  where  Rachel  dwelt,  in  the  hope 
that  quietness  and  good  nursing  might  restore  her 
child  again  to  health.  The  fond  hopes  of  the 
parent  were  all  centred  in  this  only  and  beloved 
daughter,  whose  virtues  and  early  piety  in  the  ten¬ 
der  morning  of  her  youth  gave  a  bright  promise  for 
maturer  years,  if  God  should  please  to  extend  their 
number. 

Lady  Elizabeth’s  whole  life  had  been  spent  ifi 
the  love  and  fear  of  God;  yet  humility  is  meet, 
and  the  wise  heiress  had  not  trusted  in  her  own 
strength,  and  had  followed  that  divine  Saviour 
through  whom  alone  the  fallen  children  of  Adam 
can  be  restored  to  what  they  ought  to  be.  Now 
the  Christian’s  warfare  was  almost  ended  •  the 


ORPHAN  RACHEL. 


13 

Christian’s  race  was  nearly  run:  she  passed  her 
time  in  reading  God’s  Word,  in  prayer  for  greater 
and  greater  sanctification  by  the  Spirit,  and  in 
works  of  charity  and  love,  and  even  here  was  to 
be  found  a  preceptress  of  the  ignorant,  and  a  com¬ 
forter  of  the  poor. 

Rachel  had  been  accustomed  from  her  childhood 
to  assist  her  fellow-creatures,  and  though  her  means 
were  small,  her  grandmother  had  taught  her  that 
even  kind  words  were  valuable  to  the  afflicted; 
and  that  if  she  had  no  money  to  give,  she  could 
impart  the^knowledge  of  the  Word  of  God  to  those 
who  could  not  read  it  for  themselves.  The  orphan 
never  left  her  grandfather  for  the  sake  of  pleasure, 
but  sometimes  she  stole  a  few  minutes  to  devote  to 
the  sick,  whose  sufferings  she  strove  to  alleviate  by 
directing  their  thoughts  to  the  only  true  source  of 
consolation. 

During  one  of  these  compassionate  visits,  Rachel 
met  Lady  Elizabeth ;  and  if  the  orphan  were  struck 
with  the  elegant  manners  of  the  high-born  heiress, 
that  amiable  young  lady  was  equally  charmed  with 
the  candor  and  good  sense  that  marked  the  meek 
and  lowly  Rachel;  and  with  the  permission  of  her 
mother,  she  formed  an  intimate  acquaintance  with 
her. 

Rachel  had  never  had  a  companion  of  her  own 
age  before,  and  she  returned  Lady  Elizabeth’s  re¬ 
gard  with  the  warmest  affection. 

The  young  lady  found  her  humble  friend  en¬ 
gaged  one  afternoon  in  knitting  and  learning 


14 


ORPHAN  RACHEL. 


French,  according  to  her  usual  custom  ;  and  prais¬ 
ing  her  industry  and  perseverance,  declared  her 
readiness  to  become  her  preceptress,  and  from  that 
time  used  to  devote  two  hours  daily  to  Rachel’s 
instruction.  The  docile  pupil  rapidly  improved 
under  her  friend’s  tuition,  and  the  fair  path  of 
knowledge  gradually  opened  on  her  view.  She 
related  to  Lady  Elizabeth  the  perplexity  of  mind 
she  had  formerly  endured,  and  from  what  source 
she  had  obtained  relief  from  the  trouble  that  beset 
her  at  that  time.  Lady  Elizabeth  was  much  pleased 
with  the  anecdote.  “  Oh,  dear  Rachel,”  said  she, 
“  I  can,  indeed,  bear  witness  to  the  truth  of  those 
words  that  so  sweetly  counselled  you,  for  what 
knowledge  but  His  can  sustain  me  in  the  time  of 
sickness  and  decay  ?  what  wisdom  but  His  can  give 
me  light  at  that  hour  when  my  dim  eyes  shall  close 
upon  all  earthly  objects  ?  ” 

Rachel  looked  at  her  friend,  and  the  conviction 
rushed  on  her  mind  that  the  lips  that  uttered  those 
words  would  soon  indeed  be  mute;  for  she  had 
heard  the  experienced  village  matrons  say,  that  the 
blush  of  consumption  was  more  bright  than  the 
hues  of  health  :  and  the  orphan  watched  her  young 
preceptress  with  the  most  painful  interest,  and 
every  day  beheld  her  fragile  form  become  more 
thin,  and  her  slender  hand  more  white  and  slender 
still,  with  a  grief  she  could  scarcely  conceal. 

The  mother  saw  the  change  with  feelings  of 
agony,  which  though  religion  could  soften,  it  did 
not  wholly  subdue.  She  would  have  lost  no  time  in 


ORPHAN  RACHEL. 


15 


the  conveying  her  to  Lisbon,  only  Lady  Elizabeth 
implored  her  to  permit  her  to  remain  where  she  was. 

No  human  power,  indeed,  could  preserve  the 
young  lady  from  the  stroke  of  death ;  but  as  she 
had  a  lively  faith  in  Christ,  and  a  bright  hope  of 
being  with  him  in  glory,  with  a  firmness  and  a 
hope  full  of  immortality,  she  meekly  bowed  herself 
to  meet  the  coming  blow. 

How  happy  would  poor  Rachel  have  felt  it, 
could  she  have  attended  on  her  sick  friend  during 
her  illness  ;  she  would  have  experienced  a  holy  con¬ 
solation  in  watching  her  sick-bed,  and  smoothing 
her  restless  pillow  :  but  Rachel  had  other  duties  to 
perform,  for  her  aged  grandfather  declined  hourly, 
and  required  all  her  care. 

Under  all  these  trials  Rachel  sought  assistance 
from  above;  and  when  her  health  and  patience 
seemed  likely  to  give  way,  she  used  to  implore  help 
and  strength  from  Him  whose  mercy  never  fails,  and 
he  did  not  forsake  her  in  her  affliction  and  trouble. 

The  feeble  lamp  of  life  at  length  became  extinct, 
and  Rachel  closed  the  eyes  of  her  last  relative,  and 
wept  over  him,  although  the  consciousness  of  having 
done  her  duty  by  him  greatly  softened  her  grief. 

Scarcely  had  Rachel  followed  the  remains  of  her 
grandfather  to  the  grave, — scarcely  had  she  time  to 
remember  that  she  was  a  portionless  and  friendless 
orphan,  whose  future  support  must  ;depend  upon 
her  own  exertions, — before  she  was  summoned  to 
witness  the  closing  scene  of  her  devout,  amiable 
and  high-born  preceptress. 


16 


ORPHAN  RACHEL. 


Holy  hope  and  peace  cheered  that  bed  of  death. 
The  meek  child  of  prosperity,  who  had  withstood 
the  deceits  of  the  world, — who  had  despised  its 
vain  pomps,  and  had  fixed  her  mind  on  the  true 
riches, — was  about  to  render  up  her  soul  into  her 
Redeemer’s  hands.  Yet  the  Christian’s  warfare 
wras  not  yet  over ;  earthly  ties  and  earthly  love  and 
friendship  still  struggled  in  that  dying  heart ;  Lady 
Elizabeth  looked  on  her  mother,  and  felt  that  it 
was  hard  to  part  with  that  beloved  friend.  The 
cold  hand  of  Rachel  trembled  in  her  grasp,  and  she 
was  very  dear  to  her  soul ;  tears  rushed  into  her 
eyes,  but  piety  and  a  firm  trust  in  God  gained  the 
victory  over  death. 

“Weep  not  for  me,  dear  Mamma;  mine  is  an 
early,  and  through  faith  in  Christ,  a  happy  death  ! 
Ah  !  father,  rejoice  that  your  Elizabeth  is  spared 
the  temptations  and  trials  of  a  sinful  world  !  The 
cares  of  this  world,  the  deceitfulness  of  riches, 
might  have  stolen  my  heart  from  God:  he  has 
called  me  to  him  in  youth,,  and  taken  me  away 
from  the  evil  to  come.”  She  then  took  Rachel’s 
hand  and  put  it  in  her  mother’s.  “  See,  my  Mother, 
this  is  your  daughter:  and,  Rachel,  this  is  your 
mother ;  yield  her  a  daughter’s  love,  for  you  must 
now  take  my  place  in  her  heart  and  affections. 
Now  I  have  made  my  last  bequest,  join  with  me  in 
prayer.” 

In  united  prayer  the  afflicted  parent,  the  attached 
and  grateful  friend,  and  all  the  attendants  of  that 
bed  of  death  joined;  and  Lady  Elizabeth  expired 


ORPHAN  RACHEL. 


17 

with  the  holy  name  of  that  divine  and  almighty 
Saviour  on  her  lips,  whose  footsteps  she  had  hum¬ 
bly  followed  during  her  short  earthly  sojourn. 

The  Countess  and  Rachel  mingled  their  tears 
together,  yet  they  both  felt  that  it  would  be  crimi¬ 
nal  even  to  wish  to  recall  the  blessed  spirit  that  had 
just  broken  its  earthly  bonds  in  sunder. 

In  the  affection  of  her  adopted  child,  the  bereaved 
mother  found  much  comfort  and  consolation.  Ra¬ 
chel  resembled  Lady  Elizabeth  in  person,  and  the 
Countess  now  took  a  melancholy  pleasure  in  in¬ 
structing  her  in  those  things  which  she  had  been 
accustomed  to  teach  her  deceased  daughter,  and  in 
a  little  time  she  used  to  think  that  it  was  indeed  her 
own  Elizabeth,  whose  duteous  care  prevented  her 
every  wish.  Rachel  became,  in  fact,  the  perfect 
counterpart  of  that  fair  blossom,  and  her  adopted 
parent  loved  her  with  the  same  affection  as  if  she 
had  been  her  own  child. 

The  orphan  became  a  very  accomplished  woman, 
and  was  very  advantageously  settled  in  life ;  but 
she  never  forgot  to  praise  Him  in  prosperity,  who 
had  been  her  support  and  refuge  in  her  low  estate, 
and  early  taught  her  children,  “  that  the  fear  of  the 
Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom,  and  the  know¬ 
ledge  of  the  holy  is  understanding/’ 


THE  END. 


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